Choreographer’s noteI bow to the wheel of six seasonsCycles of birth and deathEach season bestows giftsEnchanting our heartsBringing abundance to our earth

At Kala Vandanam, while we love to celebrate the traditional foundation
of our beautiful art form, it is also refreshing to jump outside of
mythological and storyline-based content to experiential content as the
basis for choreography and music. Enlivened by how the seasons are
perceived across cultures and across time, the production is inspired by
Antonio Vivaldi’s beautiful 18th century Le Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons) and Kalidasa’s brilliant 4th century Sanskrit poetry, Ritu Samhara.
Vivaldi’s innovation of “program music,” introducing each movement with
poetry, also serves as an important note. With poetry from Ritu Samhara as the backbone for the imagery, and Vivaldi’s “program music” element and composition style, including the signature Allegro-Adagio-Allegro framework as inspirations for the music, we have brought our interpretation to the stage.

The primary goal was to give aspiring Twin Cities Bharatanatyam dancers a
platform to be a part of a professionally produced original production,
like their peers in theater and ballet regularly have. To give them a
full experience, they have been through a rigorous audition process that
included a panel of highly accomplished panelists from across the
United States. Though these young aspirants are trained in a solo art
form, they are blossoming together, artistically and personally, as an
ensemble.

The creation of Ritu - The Seasons has been generously supported by the Knight Foundation and friends of Kala Vandanam.

Suchitra Sairam is a highly committed Bharatanatyam and
nattuvangam artist, and received foundational training in the
Kalakshetra style from Padmini Chari. Suchitra has continued advanced
training in Bharatanatyam under the Dhananjayans, and (late) M.V.
Narasimhachari and M. Vasanthalakshmi. Her artistic work has been
received with appreciation, and is noted for both its adherence to her
gurus’ exacting standards and its depth in technique and expressional
dance. Suchitra founded Kala Vandanam in 2002, where she personally
teaches every student and continues her choreographic explorations for
solo and ensemble Bharatanatyam works. She is the recipient of a 2015
Knight Arts Challenge grant from the Knight Foundation, a 2016 Next Step
grant from the McKnight Foundation, and a 2017 Folk and Traditional
Arts grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Suchitra holds a
bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and an MBA from the
University of Texas-Dallas.

Kala Vandanam adheres to the Kalakshetra style of Bharatanatyam,
which is known for its geometry and precision of technique, subtle
expressional dance, and keen sense of aesthetics, Kala Vandanam looks to
expand creativity within the framework of this exquisite dance form,
retaining its traditional roots while contributing to its evolution as a
“living” performance art. Kala Vandanam is also committed to
propagating Indian performing arts through hosting performances and
workshops by internationally acclaimed artists for the community to
enjoy.